Tuesday, 28 October 2014

Mexican Lasagne

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most MercifulWho doesn't love a good lasagne? My chicken lasagne is one of the most popular recipes on this blog. Today, I'm going to share with you a Mexican Lasagne.

So, what do I put in my Mexican Lasagne? How about a spicy lamb mince chilli with borlotti beans and in place of the white sauce, a fresh spinach and coriander sauce? Layer the whole lot up with lasagne sheets and Cheddar and you have a delicious, warming dinner on your hands!This recipe is also perfect when cooked and assembled in advance - as I found out when I first made it back in September.Lasagne, previously: Chicken LasagneA Simple List of Ingredients:1. Vegetable Oil2. Lamb Mince3. Onion4. Bell Pepper5. Jalapeno Chilli6. Garlic7. Salt and Pepper8. Red Chilli Powder9. Ground Cumin10. Brown Sugar11. Tomato Puree12. Dried Oregano13. Tinned Tomatoes14. Tinned Borlotti Beans15. Spring Onions16. Fresh Coriander17. Baby Spinach18. Tomato Passata19. Cheddar Cheese20. Lasagne SheetsBismillah, let's begin!

First, to make the lamb chilli. The chilli is so delicious that you could just make it and serve with boiled rice.

Anyway, in a large pan, on a medium heat, drizzle in a few tablespoons of Vegetable Oil.

Once the oil is hot, add 1 pound Lamb Mince.

Cook until completely brown, stirring now and again.

Meanwhile, take:

1 Onion

1 Bell Pepper

2 Jalapeno Chillies

4 Garlic Cloves

Peel and dice the onion. Dice the bell pepper and jalapeno chillies. Peel and finely chop the garlic.

And, once the mince is brown, throw them into the pan.

Sprinkle in a little Salt and Pepper, to taste.

Stir and cook for 8 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften and take on some colour.

Then, take:

1 and 1/2 teaspoons Red Chilli Powder (or to taste)

2 teaspoons Ground Cumin

1 teaspoon Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon Tomato Puree

1 teaspoon Dried Oregano

Add to the pan and cook for 1 minute to wake up all the spices. This is done on a medium heat.

Next, take a tin of Tomatoes (400g chopped or plum)and a tin of Borlotti Beans. Traditionally, red kidney beans are added to a chilli but I had borlotti beans in the cupboard. So, put in whatever you have and leave them out too, if you want.

Add the tinned tomatoes to the pan.

Rinse the can out with water and add that to the pan as well.

Drain and rinse the beans, and throw them in.

Stir together and bring to the boil.

Once boiling, turn the heat to the lowest. Cover and leave to cook for 1 hour. Stir the chilli now and again.

While the chilli cooks, make the spinach sauce. The main ingredients are fresh coriander, baby spinach and spring onions.

Into a blender, place 4 Spring Onions, roughly chopped.

Along with a few handfuls of Fresh Coriander, roughly chopped.

And, a few handfuls of Baby Spinach.

To get it blending, you'll need some sort of liquid. Water would be good but I decided to use Tomato Passata.

Blend the greens to a smooth paste.

Pop into a bowl.

And, season with 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano. And, Salt and Pepper, to taste.

Stir together and the sauce is ready!

And, this is the chilli, after 1 hour. Taste it for salt and adjust if needed.

Leave to cool slightly before layering into the lasagne.

To assemble, take a deep oven dish. Mine was square but any shape would do.

Spread half the chilli at the bottom.

Next, a few tablespoons of the spinach sauce.

Followed by a sprinkle of Cheddar Cheese, grated. Grate it yourself, the pre-grated stuff isn't very good.

And, then place on Lasagne Sheets. You don't have to pre-cook these and it doesn't matter if they overlap. I used a mixture of normal and wholemeal but any would do.

Repeat the layering and finish with more spinach sauce and Cheddar.

At this point, you could cover it and bake whenever you needed. I usually make it in the morning and bake in the evening for dinner.

To bake, place it onto a larger oven tray. This will make it easier to get in and out of the oven.

Bake at Gas Mark 5 or 200 degrees C.

Bake, covered with foil, for 30 minutes.

Then, uncover and bake for a further 10 minutes to get the golden brown top.

Let it cool for 10 minutes before digging in - if you can wait that long!

Add the tinned tomatoes. Rinse the tin
out with the water and add that too. Throw in the borlotti beans too. Bring to
the boil and then simmer on the lowest heat. Cover and leave for 1 hour – stir
every now and then.

Taste for salt, and adjust if needed.
Cool until needed.

To make the spinach sauce, blend the
spring onions, coriander and spinach with a few tablespoons of tomato passata.
You can also add water, as needed, to get it going.

Once blended to smooth, pour into a bowl
and add the dried oregano, salt and pepper.

When you’re ready to bake the lasagne,
preheat the oven to Gas Mark 5 or 200 degrees C.

Take a deep oven dish, and first place
half the lamb chilli, a little spinach sauce, then cheese and finally, lasagne
sheets.

Repeat the process again and finish with
spinach sauce and grated cheese.

Looks great. Can't wait to try it. A few questions. How much passata did you use? Never tried borlotti beans but I'm open to it. Does it add to the flavour or does it just give the dish a little depth? Also, you might want to edit the part where it says and (know you meant add) salt and pepper instead.

Thank you! The passata is as needed. It helps the spinach etc. blend to smooth. The beans can be any beans - maybe kidney beans? Usually in a chilli, they add beans of some kind. They add more texture to the dish. Good luck!

ASSALAMU ALAIKUM + WELCOME!

I'm Faatimah and welcome to This Muslim Girl Bakes. Here you'll find step-by-step photo recipes for both sweet and savoury halal dishes. I love putting my halal spin on many different world cuisines. On this blog, you'll find plenty of recipes for busy weeknights, slow weekends and everything in between. There's also plenty of traditional Pakistani food as that is what I was brought up on - the kind your mother used to make but you were always too scared to try.. Read more..

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